In queues that spilled out of polling stations and wound through the streets, Liberians turned out to vote in their thousands on Tuesday in the first elections since the end of a 14-year civil war — elections that could see a former Chelsea and AC Milan footballer become president.
George Weah, a former world footballer of the year, is strong favourite to win. His nearest rival is Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a former World Bank economist who could become Africa’s first female president.
In the capital, Monrovia, many camped out before dawn to be first in line, while others brought stools and umbrellas to face the long wait. ”I’m very happy to be deciding for the fate of my country,” said Jensen Fomo (33) a second-hand clothes trader queueing up to vote in a former presidential mansion.
”The new government will have so many things to do. We need schools and hospitals. We need roads. There’s no jobs and people are suffering. We expect very much from them.”
Five polling stations had been set up in the historic mansion, which was once stripped by looters who ripped even the marble tiles from the floor and tore down most of the chandeliers.
Frustrations spilled over into the occasional shove or shout, but overall the atmosphere was festive. Street traders in baggy shorts waited behind market women in colourful wraps, while children ran between the queues selling water in plastic packets. Some of the men had puckered bullet scars on their arms, indicating that they were former fighters.
Most voters would not disclose their intentions, but Fomo declared his support for the millionaire football star. ”I will vote for Weah because he is close to the people and he cares about us.”
Weah appears to command huge popular support at rallies. But many of those who flock to see him are motivated as much by his celebrity as endorsement for his candidacy.
These elections mark the rebirth of a failed state. During the civil war, government in Liberia became a byword for tyranny and corruption. The warlord Charles Taylor, who won the last presidential elections in 1997, used the army and a network of militias to terrorise the civilian population.
The country’s wealth was plundered. More than a million people in Monrovia now live in a city without running water or mains electricity. Power lines spread over the potholed boulevards but the hydroelectric turbines to supply them were sabotaged by rebels who preferred to attack in total darkness.
Among the dispossessed are remnants of Taylor’s troops. Disarmed by the UN, some 1 500 ex-soldiers have made their homes with their families in an old defence ministry building in the capital. Some were professionals, but many others were forcibly recruited. ”Charles Taylor’s men said come and fight,” said Gunnay Kruami (41). ”They killed my ma and pa. If I didn’t join, they would kill me too.”
They live in squalor and poverty, drinking rainwater, using the bushes outside as latrines and begging or hiring themselves out as day labourers. Among them are a number with missing limbs.
The angular concrete ministry building, nicknamed the Pentagon, is blackened by rainwater. Its windows are covered with plastic tarpaulins rather than glass. Inside, women squat by cooking pots as naked toddlers wander past and chickens peck at the bare concrete floor. The elections give them some hope.
George Goandah, a former lieutenant, said: ”I saw a whole lot of bad things, but I feel that our country is coming back. ”We want Liberia to be a country of law and order, and not a country where you can do a wrong thing with impunity.”
There are 1,3-million Liberians registered to vote. On Tuesday they chose between 22 presidential candidates, as well as candidates for seats in the bicameral legislature. Under the rules, results must be declared within two weeks.
A result from the capital is expected today, but voting tallies from the rainforest-clad hinterland will trickle through slowly. – Guardian Unlimited Â